Oral history interview with Hamada Haaji

Collection

Identifier: SR12273

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Hamada Haaji was conducted by Sankar Raman in 2018. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States. In this interview, Haaji discusses his early life in Somalia and the move to a refugee camp in Egypt when he was 6, and then to an apartment in Cairo two years later. He then talks about his life in Cairo, including education, his social life, and learning Arabic. He talks about his experience during the Arab Spring protests of 2011. He then discusses the process of being resettled in the United States and adjusting to life in Clackamas, Oregon. He discusses his education in Clackamas, including learning English. He closes the interview by talking about his plans for college and the future.

Dates

Creation: 2018

Creator

Haaji, Hamada (Mohamed), 1998- (Interviewee, Person)
Raman, Sankar (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/.

Biographical note

Mohamed “Hamada” Haaji was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1998. When he was 6 years old, his family sought refuge in Egypt. They lived in a refugee camp for a few years, and then moved into an apartment in Cairo. In 2013, his family applied for refugee status, and they were approved for resettlement in the United States in 2014. They settled in Clackamas, Oregon, where Haaji attended David Douglas High School.

Extent

51 Megabytes (1 online resource (1 audio file (55 min., 9 sec.))) : MPEG-4

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Hamada Haaji conducted by Sankar Raman in 2018 for The Immigrant Story. Haaji and his family left Somalia as refugees when he was 6. They were approved for resettlement in the United States in 2014 and immigrated to Clackamas, Oregon.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of The Immigrant Story, July 2020 (Lib. Acc. RL2020-018).

Publication note

An article about Hamada Haaji, "Fighting for a Better Life" by Keven Salazar, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at https://theimmigrantstory.org/fighting/